Motorcycle Repair: 1983 vt750c shadow, crank case, field coil

Question
The battery on this bike is brand new but is draining instead of charging while running. The voltage regulator is fine and the stator is fine. Do you know anything about where the main ground wire is on the bike? I'm hoping to clean any corrosion off.

Thanks,
David

Answer
I don't think the ground is the problem but it's on the left side of the crank case near the stator.  Take a VOM and check the battery voltage when the bike reved up to 3000 rpm or higher.  It should be 14.5 volts.  If it isn't, you have a problem.  Either there's too much load on the system or it's not charging correctly. It's possible the field coil is bad since you've already checked the regulator and stator.  Those are the only parts in the charging system so it's one of them.

Good luck
Rich